Links

The railway

Preserved 0-4-0ST Lord Mayor worked on the Spurn Head railway during World War I.

Books

The Industrial Railway Society book The Spurn Head Railway (IRS Record 67) by KE Hartley (1976) covers the history of the line. There have been at least two editions, but it is quite hard to find.

Sailing the Rails – A New History of Spurn and its Military Railway by Howard Frost is a more recent 80-page book with delightful photography highlighting the story of a four-mile railway along the sand dunes of Spurn. Between 1915 and 1951 it linked two military forts and provided a lifeline to the mainland, for one of the most isolated lifeboat communities in the country according to the East Riding Council. I’ve got a copy of the book, and it is excellent. It is far more than simply an update of the previous volumes, and as well as the railway matters has more on the social history of Spurn and Kilnsea. If anyone is interested in the line or the area it is well worth acquiring a copy from the Butterfly Conservation Yorkshire Branch(!), even if you have one of the previous ones. There are a lot more pictures, and more details of military matters. My only complaint is that the text has too many “!” for my personal taste…

The September 1978 issue of Railway Modeller magazine had a plan for a model railway layout based on Spurn.